Michigan Supreme Court Judge Says Facebook Campaign Won Her Election

Democrat Bridget Mary McCormack believes Facebook — specifically about $51,000 of Facebook ads — won her a seat on the Michigan State Supreme Court. She got 1.53 million votes, beating Republican incumbent Stephen Markman for the first place finish even though Markman spent $1 million in attack ads on TV, via a Washington, D.C., conservative advocacy group called “Judicial Crisis Network.”The ads only ran in heavy rotation a few days before the vote, according to Ad Age:

… the campaign ultimately had a half-dozen Facebook ads in circulation in the five days leading up to Nov. 6 after a brief testing window to find which performed best for different age and gender groups. All had positive messages (noting that Ms. McCormack had been endorsed by 10 Michigan newspapers, for example) with the aim of boosting recognition of her name by Election Day.